NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday that Western allies will need to step up their presence in the Arctic under US agreement, a day after President Donald Trump backtracked on threats to use tariffs or take Greenland by force.
Rutte told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos that it was now up to NATO commanders to work out the details of the extra security requirements and that he was “sure that non-Arctic NATO allies would like to contribute to the effort.”
‘We will meet at NATO with our senior commanders to resolve whatever is necessary,’ Rutte said.
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‘I have no doubt we can do this quickly. Certainly, I hope it will be in 2026, I hope even in early 2026’, he added.
Trump’s ambition to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from NATO member Denmark has threatened to destroy the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War II and reignite a trade war with Europe.
After weeks of threats, Trump on Wednesday backed off his threat to impose tariffs on countries that oppose his plans and ruled out the use of force, suggesting instead that a framework agreement on the Arctic island was in sight.
